LINCOLN -- Last year, as a three-year-old, Porter "Gauge" Perkins found himself as the solitary cowboy competing among a female-dominated 2019 Lincoln Riding Club Rodeo pageant.
Throughout the history of the west, the tenacity, resourcefulness and flat-out courage of the American cowboy define the profession and defy the odds, and Gauge is no exception.
The youngster was not intimidated although there were times he might have started to feel like the Lone Ranger outnumbered by the cowgirl contestants 12-to-1 while staring down a chorus line of beautiful cowgirls each dolled up in their finest western attire.
Gauge might have thought it easier to rope a bum steer or hang on to a newborn calf bawling for its mother while mixing it up among five candidates for queen, three for junior queen, one princess and three for Lil' Miss ranging in age from three to 21 including his big sister, Savannah.
None-the-less Gauge never let himself get distracted from the business at hand and came out a winner -- sporting the 2019 Lil' Mister belt buckle and a fine stick horse not to mention a big ol' Arkansas grin underneath his cowboy hat.
There was just no way he was going to let the cowgirls have all the fun.
Gauge, now 4, is the son of Charlie and Christy Perkins, of Farmington and grandson of legendary rodeo clown, Woody Porter. Gauge's favorite color is red and he absolutely loves cake. Gauge's personal memberships include Hogeye 4-H and Northwest Arkansas Riding Club (NWARC). Gauge loves kayaking, fishing, swimming, and riding anything with four legs or four wheels. Gauge's ambition for the future is to turn five and become a bull rider.
His older brothers, Tatum and Tripp, worked as junior rodeo clown and barrel man tandem taking care of the mutton busters in past years and the whole family participates in Lincoln Riding Club Play Days.
